Sparkling Tales
by LM
Summary: Backcard stories for custom G3 TwinkleEye ponies. Short and sweet!


Okay . . . I made a set of six custom G3 Twinkle-Eye ponies and these are their "backcard stories." I've only finished four of the six at the moment. Like the real MLP backcards, they aren't too long. ;)

There's a description of each pony before the story. I wish I could show them to you but won't let me post links to pictures. :)

* * *

**Beacon**

_black pegasus  
bright orange, white, yellow, and light orange hair  
white lighthouse symbol  
yellow gem eyes_

Beacon trotted along the shore at midnight, watching the lightning flash above the roaring whitecaps. "What a storm!" she said to herself. "I'll be glad to get home."

Suddenly her ears pricked up. Someone was calling for help! Taking to the sky, she saw a tiny boat being tossed and tumbled on the waves. Quick as a wink, she flew out to it.

"You're close to shore!" she called to the ponies struggling to bail and steer at the same time. "I'll lead you to safety!"

But she'd hardly turned around when she heard the ponies crying to each other, "Where is she? Did you see where she went?"

"I blend in with the dark clouds too well; they'll never be able to follow me," Beacon thought in despair.

Suddenly, she had an idea! Flying back to the beach, she landed on top of the tallest palm tree. She clicked her hooves together twice and a tiny hole appeared in the clouds, just big enough for a single moonbeam to shine through. The moonbeam danced over her beautiful eyes, making them shine and sparkle in the dark night. Soon the boat was sculling to shore, guided by the Beacon's gleaming eyes.

Beacon waved away the ponies' thanks as she led them home to dry off. "That's what friends are for!" she laughed.

* * *

**Carnival**

_gold pony  
dark purple, light purple, gold, and green hair  
purple, blue, and green carnival mask symbol  
purple gem eyes_

It was the night of the big festival and the moon hung full and orange over cobblestone streets crowded with laughing, dancing ponies. In the crowd, Carnival admired a colorful float being pulled along. Sequins of red, purple, and blue sparkled as they formed a rainbow leading up to a cloud made of gauze and glitter. On top of it stood the king and queen of the festival, tossing strings of beads, coins, and feathered masks down to the surging crowd.

Suddenly, the baby ponies scrambling up to the float cried out in dismay and the king and queen's smiles were replaced with worried looks. They had run out of trinkets to throw! Carnival knew just what to do; she blinked her eyes and the sequins started popping off the rainbow on the float . . . and each one turned into a lustrous string of beads. The crowd cheered as strands of sapphire blue, emerald green, and ruby red rained down on them.

"But the float won't look half as good without the sequins," commented a pony near Carnival.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," she replied airly. Sure enough, the sequins fell away to reveal not pasteboard, but a real rainbow!

"It's magic! Carnival magic!" the baby ponies sang as they danced in the glow of the rainbow, bedecked with beads.

"Yes, it is!" laughed Carnival, winking her sparkling eyes.

* * *

**Cataract**

_white pony  
royal blue, light blue, white, and aqua hair  
blue splashes as a symbol  
blue gem eyes  
cataract is another word for waterfall ;)_

Cataract stepped carefully into her powder blue slippers and rearranged her dress. It was the night of the big Ponyville concert and Cataract couldn't wait to go! For weeks she'd sat in the park in the sunny afternoons, munching a sandwich as she listened to the band practice.

"They're sure to be spectacular," Cataract thought, putting on her hat as she stepped into the cool night air.

The little white pony was blind, but she had no problem getting around Ponyville; she'd explored it all and she could feel the difference between the cobblestones in front of the castle and the wide rocks paving the road in front of the Cotton Candy Cafe through her hooves. Each patch of grass was unique, every stretch of road had its own chips and grooves. Cataract _never_ got lost.

Tonight her hooves were encased in silky shoes from Frilly Frock's boutique, making the ground under her feel odd and alien, but Cataract wasn't worried. There was nowhere in Ponyville she hadn't been, even if the concert stand only _was_ used once or twice a year. She hesitated only a moment when she came to the edge of the road before turning left onto the grass.

Cataract walked and walked, getting more and more anxious as her ears strained for the sound of trumpets or clarinets. All she heard were nightbirds calling. She finally stopped in despair when she heard a small waterfall gushing ahead of her. This certainly wasn't the right way!

"It's these shoes," Cataract thought, kicking them off. But she was far outside the bounds of Ponyville and the ground felt rough and unfamiliar under her hooves. "How am I going to find my way back?" she wondered aloud. "And I've already missed half the concert!"

"A concert?" a voice croaked near her feet. "Why, we're having a concert here tonight! We'd love for you to be the guest of honor."

"Why, thank you," Cataract said with surprise, looking down towards the voice, which sounded near her hooves. "Where should I sit?"

"Sit here," whispered a rustle of voices gently and when Cataract cautiously sat back, she found herself seated on a cushion of soft reeds and rushes.

A hush fell. Then with one voice tiny peeper frogs began to sing while the baritone bullfrogs bulged their throats in counterpart. The waterfall seemed to blend with the music, tinkling merrily, then rushing dramatically. The big brown heads of the cattails provided percussion, leaning down to beat a rhythm on lilypads, while the crickets bent and scraped their wings as one, like a thousand tiny violins playing together.

The lilting music seemed to lift Cataract's soul; tears rolled down her cheeks, but she wore a rapturous smile as the perfect harmony finally faded away.

"I'm so very happy I took a wrong turn tonight," she told the bullfrog leading her home, her eyes shining with tears and joy.

* * *

**Dragonfly**

_pink pony  
blue, dark purple, light yellow, and light purple hair  
blue and gold dragonfly symbols__  
turquoise gem eyes_

_damselflies are almost identical to dragonflies, except they have a weak fluttering flight_

Dragonfly smiled as she saw Kindle sitting under a tree. "Would you like to go on a picnic with me?" she asked.

"Sure, Dragonfly," he agreed. "Where to?"

"How about Jewel Pond?" suggested Dragonfly.

"Oh." Kindle grimaced. "Couldn't we go to the park instead? The pond has so many mosquitos."

"It doesn't have that many."

"It has an army of them, Dragonfly."

The little pink pony snorted, "We'll see about that!" and trotted off in a huff.

Dragonfly trotted through the outskirts of Ponyville until she reached Jewel Pond. Half hidden by weeping willows and birch, the smooth surface of the pond reflected the blue of the sky and the green of the green in the shimmering, gem-like display which had given it its name. Dragonfly couldn't imagine anything more beautiful.

But even as she thought this, her ears flicked at an annoying whine that got louder and closer and louder and closer . . . as a horde of hungry mosquitos descended on her. Dragonfly's tail slapped the bugs from the air and flicked them off her flanks, but more took their place. Finally she galloped away until she lost them and stood panting, gazing at the pond from a distance as her bites began to itch. She had to admit that Kindle was right; the serene, undisturbed water was the perfect breeding ground for mosquitos. She sat down and thought and thought as she absently rubbed her welts. Finally a smile broke out on her face and a stray sunbeam danced across her twinkling eyes.

Dragonfly stood up and sang,

"Darting here and darting there,  
Wings so clear and veined with light  
Dance and shimmer in the air,  
Swoop or hover in their flight.  
Skim the mirror-lake with care,  
Dragon, damsel, have a bite."

For a few minutes there was silence as Dragonfly stood still, ears straining. But then from the east came a faint sound that she felt more than heard--a deep, buzzing hum. As the hum rose to an overwhelming thrum, a river of slender blue, green, and red insects with wide, clear wings flowed over her. The pony reared with excitement as glistening dragonflies zipped around her, accompanied by delicate, fluttering damselflies. The mosquitos rose from the pond with a whine, then frantically scattered as the dragonflies chased them hungrily. Within minutes, all the mosquitos had been cleared from the pond and the dragon- and damselflies were perched on the swaying reeds, full and content.

"Thank you, thank you!" Dragonfly cried happily. She raced back to Ponyville to tell her friends the good news as the dragonflies shimmered like jewels in the sun.


End file.
